The row over the Madhav Gadgil Committee report on the Western Ghats and the K. Kasturirangan report, which diluted the Gadgil recommendations, has revived the on-and-off factional feud within the CPI(M) in Kerala.

As either of the reports, if implemented, would impact the lives of tens of thousands of people living in the Western Ghats region in six States, the issue is certain to become a campaigning point in the Lok Sabha elections, particularly in Kerala.

The CPI(M) has taken a public stand against both the reports. Pinarayi Vijayan, the party’s State secretary, has said both the reports are anti-farmer and are pieces of environmental fundamentalism.

However, former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, who is Vijayan’s opponent in the party, has publicly supported the Gadgil report and called for implementing its recommendations.

Vijayan on Wednesday said Achuthanandan’s pro-Gadgil stand stemmed from his ‘misunderstanding’ of the contents of the report. The 90-year-old Achuthanandan, known for his pro-environment views, immediately rebutted this and said he stuck to his stand on the Gagdil report.

On Thursday, senior CPI(M) leader and Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury told the media in Kozhikode that Pinarayi Vijayan’s version was the party’s line. He stressed that Western Ghats conservation reports should be implemented only after consulting people.

POLL ISSUE The views of the two CPI(M) stalwarts in Kerala, the State which kicked up the most heat over the two Ghats reports, are likely to hot up the political debates over the Western Ghats. Recognising the potential of the issue to swing votes, most political parties have opposed both the reports.

The CPI(M) has launched an agitation seeking to throw out the two sets of recommendations. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said not a single farmer will be evicted from the Western Ghats region.

The highly influential Catholic Church is the fiercest critic of the two Western Ghats reports. The church has traditionally encouraged its members to go west to the Ghats to till and settle.

It has also built up a large network of churches, convents, educational institutions and hospitals in the region. Political parties in Kerala, particularly the constituents in the Congress-led United Democratic Front, are generally loath to antagonising the church.

SILENT VALLEY However, the CPI(M) stand has surprised many environmentalists. They point out that it was the CPI(M)-backed agitation (fronted by Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad) back in the 1970-80s that saved the evergreen rainforest of Silent Valley, which is part of the Western Ghats, from destruction.

Again, during the previous LDF government, headed by Achuthanandan, many steps were taken to evict land grabbers from the Ghats region, mainly close to Munnar. The CPI(M) had also launched or backed agitations against encroachments on the backwaters of Kerala, which draw water from the Ghats. Shrinkage of water availability is a major basis for many of the Gadgil recommendations.

With Achuthanandan and Vijayan taking opposite views on the crucial issue and the national party leadership backing Vijayan, the Western Ghats politics is likely to fuel the long-running battle between the two.

basheer.kpm@thehindu.co.in

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